Bad Movie Night Leads to Good Karma for Couple

The movie turned out to be a lemon, but it was a honey of a time for Michael and Alicia Call.

“It was terrible,” Michael, RN, said. “It looked like a good movie.”

Michael invited Alicia out to see “Shutter Island,” a film he was eager to see. They worked in the same hospital on different floors, where he occasionally raided ice cream from her unit for his patients. Recently out of a relationship, Michael said he saw the get-together as a friendly outing. They talked so easily, though, and it felt like he had known her a long time. He noticed a sparkle in her eyes. Alicia noticed his dimples.

Michael and Alicia, RN, started dating in earnest, and one year later, they tied the knot. They enjoy watching films, going to concerts and hanging out at home together being homebodies. Michael says he recommends that nurses marry nurses.

“I promote it,” he said. “You have the same 12-hour shift. You can be together a lot. You can align your schedule almost the same.”

These days Michael and Alicia use their versatile hours to care for their 3-month old. They schedule their shifts in opposite times so that one or the other is home with the baby, they said. Alicia says dual nursing is easy on the family budget.

“We like it. It saves us some money,” said Alicia.

Alicia said being married to a nurse means getting to the heart of a medical matter without having to explain in great detail as with family and friends. Each spouse understands the processes and terminology, she said. It’s a good stress-reliever, she said.

“Something happens at work,” she said. “I can come home and say, ‘what you think about this situation?’ You don’t have to explain in detail. You don’t have to explain what the procedure was.”

Sharing responsibilities of child care also teaches their daughter how mom and dad do things differently, Alicia said. The parent at home helps in other ways, she said.

“We both work really long hours,” Alicia said. “When I work, he takes over — takes care of the baby and does dinner. We are able to switch our roles. Share the responsibilities on the home front.”

Alicia and Michael say they enjoy nursing for the same reasons. They like connecting with patients and taking care of people. For Valentine’s Day this year, they plan to have a quiet dinner at home and snuggle up with the baby, Alicia said.